HOW TO TIME YOUR ENGINE WITHOUT TIMING MARKK

When your engine has no timing marks on its crankshaft pulley and the corresponding stationary mark in front of the pulley or at the same time the camshaft pulley has likewise no timing mark, here the procedures.

You will only have a problem if and when you have maybe removed the timing belt and have , removed the camshaft, and rocker arm  or have removed the distributor assembly.


FIRST ASSUMPTION:
   YOU ARE ABOUT TO PUT BACK THE TIMING BELT TO THE CAMSHAFT GEAR and crankshaft gear  and you noticed that it has  NO TIMING MARK.   Your engine firing order is 1,3,4, 2

 1. supposedly, the camshaft pulley  has a lock key , looks like a half moon steel and this inserted to a slot in the camshaft .
2.  let us assume that you have removed the camshaft and the rocker arm and it has no timing marks
3. a  . lightly loosen the nut and screw of the rocker arm so that when putting the rocker arm assembly back , the rocker arm will not be damaged if the camshaft will be positioned wrongly.
 4.  remove the spark plug of no. 1 piston, then insert a long screw driver o stick into the hole of the spark plug.
5. rotate the crankshaft pulley until the stick or screw driver went up fully.  the number one piston is now on compression stroke. Put now a mark on the crankshaft pulley  and on the front of the timing cover.
6.  put back the camshaft and the rocker arm assembly.  Rotate the camshaft manually until the rocker arm tip is about to go down to push the valve tip for  the number four piston. the camshaft now is timed on the crankshaft  .Put now a mark on the camshaft pulley and on the the cylinder head  in line with that mark you put on the camshaft pulley.
4.  this position of the camshaft is assumed to be in the compression stroke of the piston in number one spark plug. Assumption because there is no timing mark on it.
5. insert now the distributor assembly , normally, the camshaft on newer cars has a slot intended for the teeth of the distributor .
6. now , it is expected that the rotor of the distributor is pointing to the port of the distributor where the spark plug cable for number 1 spark plug is placed.  Put a number to that port. say number 1.
7. do not put back the timing belt yet at this stage.

8. rotate now the crankshaft pulley  depending on how that engine rotates normally ( clock or counter clock) , while rotating wait until the long stick went up fully  again ( upon reaching the top dead center of that piston and you continue rotating,  the stick will go down, so do not allow that stick to go down even a little bit).   At this position , the piston number ONE  is  in TOP DEAD CENTER  OR compression stroke.
9. Check if the mark you put in no.5 and 6 is again on line with each other.  

10.  put now the timing belt, make sure the pulley will not move including camshaft gear.
 11.  tighten the belt tensioner.
12.   adjust now the rocker arm of intake and exhaust valve .of number one piston.
13. rotate   the crankshaft pulley , to stop when the rocker arm of the intake valve of number 2 piston is about to go down,  it will go down because the cam lobes for the rocker arm assigned to number 2 is about to push the rear end of the rocker arm of  intake rocker arm..  if you will insert a stick to the number 3 piston that stick will be on upward condition just like in no. 8. that means it is also in compression stroke.
14 . adjust the rocker arm clearance or valve of no. 3 piston. the rotor now is pointing the number 3 spark plug port..
15  rotate again like in number 13, stop when the rocker arm intake of number one piston is about to go down. .
16. adjust the rocker arm clearance of number 4 piston. Rotor now is pointing number 4 spark plug port.
17. rotate again, like in no. 15, stop when the rocker arm intake of number 3 is about to go down,  insert a stick.on number 2 piston. the rotor now is pointing to number 2 port.
18 . rotate again until the number 4 intake rocker arm is about to go down.  adjust the rocker arm clearance. This time the mark you put in number no.  above must be on line  and the rotor is pointing to the port of the number one spark plug..
19. the crankshaft timing mark must be on line , if not on line , have it on line to each other , by this time the camshaft must be also on line, if not , no choice but to remove again the time belt , then make the camshaft timing mark on line.   put back the timing belt.

REPEAT THE WHOLE PROCESS,  check the valve or rocker arm clearance,  rotor pointing to correct port, then upon reaching the top dead of number one piston , both timing mark of camshaft and crankshaft are all on line ,   if the rotor is not correctly pointed to number one spark plug, loosen the holding nut of the distributor and rotate it until the rotor is pointing the port of the number one spark plug. 


 2ND ASSUMPTION.
  You have only noticed that your engine has no timing mark on both camshaft and crankshaft and you only want to put a mark on it.

Procedure:

1.  open the valve cover.
2.  rotate the crankshaft until the rocker arm intake of number 4 piston is about to go down. stop, the arm of the intake and exhaust rocker arm when touch up and down is moving , even the intake rocker arm of number two piston, and that of exhaust rocker arm of number 4, can also be move up and down. That means the intake rocker arm of number is three, intake of number 4, exhaust of number 2, and exhaust of four is non movable.  The number one piston now is on compression stroke or at TOP DEAD CENTER..
3. expect that the rotor of the distributor is pointing the port of spark plug for number 1 spark plug.
4. put now a white paint on the top of the crankshaft pulley and also in front of that pulley or the timing cover.
5.  put also a white timing mark on the camshaft gear and also in front of that mark, on the body of the cylinder head.